Toe protector



I. KIWAD TOE PROTECTOR Julie 2, 1953 I INVENTOR. 16710026 mwAo Filed Feb. 2'7, 1951 Patented June 2, 1953 rouuno'rno'roa Isadore K'iwad; Westwoodf-N. J

Application; nebularer, 1951;,..SeriaL o. 212,926

' 3- Claimsr "(01. 1281 -153);

Thisinvention relates to. protector devicesior the toeslof theieetand .has for. its, primary ob.- ject the-provisionofl a .highlyv improved. and greatly simplified. formof construction. andarrangement for toe protectors of-the type shown anddescribed in my U. 6. Patent No. 2,531,851, dated November 28,..1950r forToe- Protector.

A- further-objectof my invention is to provide atoe 'protectorof the character described which shallv be so simple in design as to be relatively inexpensive to manufacture whereby the user thereof could easilyafiord to discardand replace the same after a relatively short period of wear.

Another object of my invention is to. provide av toeprotector ofthe character described which shall be characterized bythe-easezwith which it canbe worn and removed and which shall at the same time be effective to a high degreeior the purposes intended..

Other objects of my invention will become apparent vfrm .-tlrie description of the invention to follow, or will hereinafter beumorezfully pointed out.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. l is atop plan view of a :toe protector con-- structedand arranged according to my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional-.view.taken:substam tially. along the. line 22 of Fig, 1;

Fig. 3 issa perspective View. of the protector shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but of smallersizeaand illustrating the-manner of folding. and bending of the parts-thereof, ready foruse;

Figs. 4 and 5 are schematic illustrations as viewed from the bottom of the foot of the. user andillustrating the manner. of placingv the;toe.

protectorsin proper position; 1

llig. 6v is a. perspective view similar to-Fig .-.-3 but showingthe same in effective position .on-one of the. toes whenyiewed from the, top. of the foot;

Fig. 7 is aplan viewsimilartolilig. 1,.but illustrating a modified formof ray-invention; and

Figs. 8 .andB are views. similar to Figs...3 and..5

respectively, but illustrating the .Fig, '7 iormofl invention.

Referring now in detail to the -drawings,- I have illustrated in Figs. 1 through 6a toeprotecton. constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention and comprising a single sheet 29 of softhresilient materialoi the nature of cotton, wool, nylon, rayon or silk, preferably felted and of suitable length, width and thickness to satisfactorily form the functions? intended. Begine sing at points 2,l,.spaced inwardly a predetermined distance a: from .the transverse edge 29a of'the sheet 20, I provide a pair of longitudinal slits 22 and 23 running in a direction toward the transverse edge 26b .of the sheet 29. Itisn'oted that the slits 22. and .23 extend, for a distance substantially equal't'o oneh'alfthe distance betweerrth'e points 2! and th'eledg'e Zllb of the-'sheeti 253;; The purposeandsfunctiomofithe distancexe- 2L; lationships-Just described will soon become. ap parent. 22- witha transverse slit 24 thus forming a tongue portion .2 ii, bendable toa plane at an angle to the planeof the sheet Zll.

. It isthus seen fromthe above description that, I. have produced by a simple. operation which maybe. performed. inv a single stamping with an suitable. die, a toe protector which may readily;

.be applied. to the. foot in the following manner:

As ,bestseenin Fig 3, the tongue portion.25 is pressedforwardly to..the,dotted line position 25 leaving an opening 28 in thematerial of the sheet 2d... The portion 26- adjacentthe opening 23 is then folded inwardly to the dotted line position 2'5 which issubstantially parallel to. the bent tongue .25 The angularly folded toe'protector as just-described is then mounted. on aselected toe,- in: this case, the toe Ashown in Fig. 4,.with the said toe A projecting through the opening 28 until the lowermost portion of .the spaces between the toes is reached, or to. any other depthv desired, -such.as,-for example, that shownin Fig. 5. It is noted that by placing the toe'protector .Zllon the toe'A, the bent tongue 25 thereof will be protectively interposed between the big toe'T and the toe. A,-.while the part 28 will be protectively interposed between thetoes-AandB. If. another toe protector unit is placed on thetoe C, the spaces between the toes B and. C and C and D will be.- protected.

It isthus seen that a toe. protector 2!] may be selectively placed on any-toe depending. upon the needs-of .thewearer and that two toe. protectors are all that are required for maximum protection between all the toes of one foot.

Thematerial of thesheet 29 being soft and flexible, the-toe protector of myinvention will readily-adjust itself tothe. footwithout discome fortto thewearer;

Inview-of the fact that the length Y of the. tongue issubstantially equal to. the length 2- of theportion 25, the said tongue and-portions when; bent as-shownin Figs. 3 and. 6 will be substantially of equal size Iii-Figs. 7; 8 -and 91 have illustrated a modified form oriny invention" in which instead of a singlew'tonguel member cut from the-sheet of material I provide a-plurality of such tongues which form openings spaced alongthe length thereof so i that the toeprotecto-r may be mounted onmore: than one toe-in which tongue andsheet portionsmay be protectively interposed between all thetoes of one foot at' one operation.

Asnoteol Fig. '7, I provide a longitudinal :sheet 3il' ofsuitable toeprotecting material havingxupper-andv lower longitudinal marginal edges 30a and 36b and transverse marginal edges; 39c and. 39d. In the :manner described in connection 1 with the Figs; 1 through 6 .formof my invention,.

I provid,e;.-upneraandslowerslitsztl land ?2...; tar-. n sv I then interconnect the slits 2! and from a point spaced :c-distance from the edge c and extending for a predetermined distance Y toward the edge 30d. A transverse slit 33 interconnects the slits 3| and 32 to thereby provide a first tongue member 35 which when bent angularly away from the plane of the sheet 30 to the position 35 (see Fig, 8) leaves an opening 36 designed to receive a toe therethrough. Spaced :c-distance from the transverse slit 33 a second set of upper and lower slits 40 and 41 are provided, which are in substantial alignment with the slits 3| and 32 and which are interconnected by a transverse slit 43 forming a second tongue 45 bent out from a second opening 46 adapted to receive the next adjacent toe therethrough. Similarly, at a distance X from the transverse slit 3 I provide a pair of longitudinal slits 5| and 52 and an interconnecting transverse slit 53, forming a third tongue 55 bent out from the opening 56 which in turn receives the next adjacent M toe therethrough. According to my invention the portion 58 of the sheet 30 between the transverse slit 53 and the transverse edge 30d is substantially equal to the longitudinal dimension Y of the tongues 35, 45 and 55 so that when the said portion 58 is angularly bent to the position 58 (Fig. 8) it will serve as another tongue to be interposed between adjacent toes.

It is thus seen from the above description that when the toe protector shown in Figs. 7 and 8 is mounted on the toes of the foot as illustrated in Fig. 9 in which the foot is viewed from the bottom, in one operation the spaces between all the toes are protected. Thus, as noted in Fig. 9, the tongue 35 is interposed between the big toe T and the toe A; the tongue 45 is interposed between the toes A and B; the tongue 55 is interposed between the toes B and C; and the end portion 58 is interposed between the toes C and D.

As best seen in Fig. 7, the transverse slits 33, 43 and 53 may each be made wider than their longitudinal slits to facilitate the mounting of the toe protector on the toes.

As noted in Figs, 7, 8 and 9, the portion U between the upper slits 3|, 48 and 5| and the longitudinal edge 30a is of less width than the portion L between the lower slits 32, M and 52 and the lower longitudinal edge, the wider bottom portion L being designed to fit underneath the toes in the hollow parts thereof.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a toe protector of the character described comprising longitudinal sheet of flexible material, a plurality of integral tongue portions in the plane of said longitudinal sheet, and of a given length, said tongue portions being spaced from each other a given distance along the length of said sheet, said sheet being provided at one end thereof with an imperforate portion substantially equal in length to the length of a single tongue portion, each of said tongue portions being bendable away from the plane of said sheet to form corresponding openings in the plane of said sheet, said openings being adapted to receive therethrough a toe of the foot of a user with each of said tongue and said imperiorate portion being thereby positioned between a pair of adjacent toes.

2. As an article of manufacture, a toe protector of the character described comprising a sheet of flexible material having first and second longitudinal edges and first and second transverse edges, a first longitudinal through slit in said sheet, starting at a point adjacent said first transverse edge, and extending in a direction toward said second transverse edge; said first longitudinal slit being disposed on one side of the longitudinal axis of said sheet and terminating at a point spaced from said second transverse edge, a distance substantially equal to the length of said first longitudinal slit, a second longitudinal through slit, starting at a point adjacent said first transverse edge and extending in a direction toward said second transverse edge, said second longitudinal slit being disposed on the opposite side of the longitudinal axis of said sheet, from that of said first longitudinal slit, and of a length substantially equal to the length of said first longitudinal slit, a transverse through slit interconnecting and communicating with said first and second slits, whereby a tongue member is provided which is bendable away from the normal plane of said sheet leaving a toe receiving opening; whereby upon the insertion of a toe into said toe receiving opening, said tongue member may be protectively disposed between the toe in said opening and the next adjacent toe, and the portion of said sheet between said first slit and said second transverse edge may be protectively disposed between the toe in said opening and the next adjacent toe opposite said first mentioned adjacent toe.

3. As an article of manufacture, a toe protector of the character described comprising a sheet of flexible material having first and second longitudinal edges and first and second transverse edges, a first longitudinal through slit in said sheet, starting at a point adjacent said first transverse edge, and extending in a direction toward said second transverse edge; said first longitudinal slit being disposed on one side of the longitudinal axis of said sheet and terminating at a point spaced from said second transverse edge, a distance substantially equal to the length of said first longitudinal slit, a second longitudinal through slit, starting at a point adjacent said first transverse edge and extending in a direction toward said second transverse edge, said second longitudinal slit being disposed on the opposite side of the longitudinal axis of said sheet, from that of said first longitudinal slit, and of a length substantially equal to the length of said first longitudinal slit, a transverse through slit interconnecting and communicating with said first and second slits, whereby a tongue member is provided which is bendable away from the normal plane of said sheet leaving a toe receiving opening; whereby upon the insertion of a toe into said toe receiving opening, said tongue member may be protectively disposed between the toe in said opening and the next adjacent toe, and the portion of said sheet between said first slit and said second transverse edge may be protectively disposed between the toe in said opening and the next adjacent toe opposite said first mentioned adjacent toe; said transverse slit being wider than said first and second longitudinal slits.

ISADORE KIWAD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 459,587 Leech Sept. 15, 1891 1,874,737 Boisselier Aug, 30, 1932 1,922,233 Cooney Aug. 15, 1933 2,069,034 Hicks Jan. 26, 1937 2,539,115 Brachman Jan. 23, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 935,109 France Jan. 19, 1948 

